The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2014, and October 31, 2015 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on October 15, 2015, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

KIRKUS REVIEW

A host of wild animals attends the wedding of two bears set among the abundant wildflowers that have inspired this story. Marshall (Banana Moon, 1998, etc.) constructs a story out of the names of wildflowers, i.e., “Trumpets blared, bluebells rang, and blue flags waved. . . . Jack-in-the-pulpit, the preacher, looking smart in his bishop’s cap, raised his goldenrod to welcome [the guests].” All the denizens in the forest join together to help celebrate the wedding of their friends, Sweet William and black-eyed-Susan. Jack-in-the-pulpit, an owl, is the preacher; Johnny-jump-up, a rabbit, is the best man; Pussy willow (a cat, of course) is the flower girl and so on. Rose petals are thrown at the happy couple, the wedding feast consists of butter-and-eggs and marsh mallows (yes, those are wildflowers, too) and tea is served in buttercups. Unfortunately, neither the story nor the illustrations are very appealing. The cut paper illustrations are unattractively flat and overly busy, with colors that jar. The layout of each page is too uniform—each is a two-page full-bleed spread with a solid background color, with little variation in the display of the text. Even the endpapers, with individual pictures of each wildflower in octagonal frames, are drab. A clever idea, but one that is unsuccessfully executed. (Picture book. 3-7)

Be the first to discover new talent!
Each week, our editors select the one author and one book they believe to be most worthy of your attention and highlight them in our Pro Connect email alert.
Sign up here to receive your FREE alerts.